During tough economic times, job offers become more difficult to come by, especially lucrative opportunities at desirable firms. Applications placed at various organizations are perused by prospective employers and sifted through to find the best, most qualified candidates. If a company likes what it sees, it will contact that applicant to learn more about him or her. Assuming all goes well, a job offer is made and a match between employee and employer is ratified. This is the way we assume the typical process of applying for a job is conducted, and any offer of employment made to us is the genuine article. All may not be as it seems though as there are those in the world, particularly during desperate times, who prey upon eager job applicants seeking gainful employment.
A few weeks ago, a family member received a job offer from a well-known computer manufacturer. He had submitted his resume to a particular organization that specialized in linking employment candidates with potential employers and this was his first offer. The position was that of an administrative assistant online. I’ve never heard of such a thing before, but this is the new age of job opportunities, isn’t it? It was exciting news, and I was impressed by the prospect as I had purchased two laptops and several components from that company. Good fortune seemed to be smiling down upon him. Or was it?
Not long after his initial, non-verbal contact with the company, they sent him a check for $2,500 via UPS with instructions to deposit the money into his bank account and then wire it to their trusted vendor to purchase office equipment. This was also an effort to set up a payment link with that account so they could send him his paychecks via direct deposit. When anyone ever sends someone money to deposit into their bank account just to have that person wire it back to what was essentially the same source, that should immediately raise a red flag of concern. Not only was this a highly questionable transaction, but the trusted vendor had no company name, only an individual’s first name and title. That’s not very suspicious, is it? Instead of cashing the check, he asked the bank to confirm whether or not it was valid. The bank agreed to verify the authenticity of the check, but only after he deposited it into his account. Are they kidding? If the check bounced, which it most certainly would have, he would have incurred a bounced check fee. I’ve had my bank verify the authenticity of a check before without cashing it first, so I know it can be done. It’s easy to see whose interest this particular bank was looking out for.
He left the bank and contacted UPS to verify the source of the check. It turns out that while the return address displayed on the envelope was the correct address of the company, the check did not originate from the company. While the actual source could not be verified, it was confirmed that the check originated from the opposite end of the country. The individual at UPS also confirmed that they receive those types of checks all the time, so this was not an isolated event.
Instead of discarding the check and dismissing it as a close call, he contacted the police to alert them to the scam. He was shocked when he was told that no crime had been committed. For one, he never deposited the check, so there was no actual harm. Secondly, even if he had deposited the check and wired money to the scammers, he would have done so willingly, and a legal willing act is not a crime. This was unfathomable. Someone can send another person a fake check under the guise of an employment offer, instruct that person to deposit the check into their bank account, and then wire their own money (since funds from deposited checks aren’t usually available when initially deposited) back to a third party for fabricated employment purposes and that isn’t a crime. The person who falls for the scam is out $2,500 since the funds from the fake check never become available AND they get charged a bounce check fee on top of it, adding insult to injury. That is absolutely unbelievable. The scammer sending the fake check obviously knows the law and how to bend it without breaking it. They even knew enough to send it through UPS instead of USPS (avoiding potential mail fraud charges) to keep their profile as low under the Federal radar as possible This was obviously not the work of an amateur at his first day on the job.
This situation should prove one thing with crystal clarity. You are the only person looking out for your best interest. Don’t count on corporations, banks, or even the authorities to come to your rescue when you become the target of a scammer. There are millions of people who wouldn’t think twice about taking what you have to improve their financial well-being, so think carefully before giving anybody access to your bank accounts and your hard earned money. If you ever have any questions about a suspicious offer, prospect, or windfall, ask somebody. Don’t just assume that any financial opportunity is valid. Ask questions. Lot’s of questions. Ask the source of the funds (if you can), the Better Business Bureau (at BBB.org), the local chamber of commerce, and even your favorite internet browser. Also be sure to read up on the latest collection of scams and related statistics at the FBI’s website, FBI.gov. Vigilance is the best line of defense against those who seek to profit from unsuspecting prey. Become the scammers worst nightmare by being an informed and vigilant consumer and you can help to reduce their population as well as their ill-gotten gains.
Your assignment: list or describe popular Internet and/or email scams and what you can do to avoid becoming a victim.